New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi who turned 69 on Tuesday, said that government has worked to strengthen the unity of the country in the past 100 days by integrating Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh as Union Territories, as he paid tribute to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.

Taking inspiration from Sardar Patel, India took an important decision to solve the decades old problem, PM said, referring to the abrogation of Article 370 which granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir, and the bifurcation of the former state into two Union Territories.

“People of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh had to face discrimination for 70 years and their hopes and aspirations remained unfulfilled. Country had to bear its consequences in the form of violence and separatism in the valley,” PM said.

“I have full faith that with the active support from people from Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, we will succeed in paving way for development”, he said.

PM Modi said that the dreams of Sardar Patel are now being fulfilled. He said that the government is trying to complete the tasks that were lying incomplete since independence.

PM said that the day was significant for India’s unity as it marks Hyderabad Liberation Day, when the princely state acceded to India.

Hailing Sardar Patel as a great unifier, he said that his vision of ‘one India, great India,’ is now coming true.

Prime Minister Modi was addressing a gathering at the launch of Narmada Mahotsav, in Kevadiya, Gujarat, on his 69th birthday.

From taking a stroll along the Sardar Sarovar Dam site, visiting a cactus garden in Narmada district, to releasing a basket full of fluttering butterflies into a Butterfly Garden in Kevadiya, Prime Minister Narendra Modi took part in numerous activities in Gujarat on Tuesday to mark his 69th birthday.